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Thursday, 24 June 2004
SAUDI ARABIA EYES KAZAKH PORT DEVELOPMENT
By empty (6/24/2004 issue of the CACI Analyst)
Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud met with Nurtai Abikaev, the speaker of Kazakhstan\'s upper house of parliament, on 23 June in Astana to discuss bilateral cooperation and the possibility of Saudi investment in Kazakhstan, Khabar TV reported. \"We plan to undertake the reconstruction and development of the port in Aqtau in order to turn it into a free economic zone and the main economic center in the Caspian region,\" Kazinform quoted Abdallah as saying. The crown prince, who himself owns telecommunications companies, also expressed interest in Kazakhstan\'s cellular communications market.
Crown Prince and First Deputy Prime Minister Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud met with Nurtai Abikaev, the speaker of Kazakhstan\'s upper house of parliament, on 23 June in Astana to discuss bilateral cooperation and the possibility of Saudi investment in Kazakhstan, Khabar TV reported. \"We plan to undertake the reconstruction and development of the port in Aqtau in order to turn it into a free economic zone and the main economic center in the Caspian region,\" Kazinform quoted Abdallah as saying. The crown prince, who himself owns telecommunications companies, also expressed interest in Kazakhstan\'s cellular communications market. For his part, Abikaev thanked Saudi Arabia for the grant it provided to construct Kazakhstan\'s Senate, or upper house of parliament. (RFE/RL)